Aotearoa New Zealand history with Dr Vincent O'Malley and occasional guest contributors

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Te Riri ki Waikato: The Waikato War Revisited

VUW History Programme Seminar, Friday 3 May 2013

The
History Programme at VUW warmly invites you to attend a seminar by Dr
Vincent O'Malley, HistoryWorks: Te Riri ki Waikato: The Waikato War
revisited

This
year marks the 150th anniversary of the invasion of Waikato, rightly
described by Alan Ward as ‘the climactic event in New Zealand
race relations’ history. It is tempting to assume that, between James
Cowan’s sprawling narrative and James Belich’s more contemporary,
concise and insightful analysis, we know all we need to about that
conflict. In fact, there is a great deal more that can
be explored. Drawing upon recent research for the Waitangi Tribunal’s
Te Rohe Potae inquiry, Vincent O’Malley will discuss some of his new
(and sometimes surprising) findings concerning the war, its origins and
aftermath.

Vincent
completed his PhD in NZ Studies at VUW in 2004 and has published widely
in the area of Crown and Māori historical relationships, including his
1998 book,
Agents of Autonomy: Māori Committees in the Nineteenth Century (Huia Publishers), and (with David Armstrong)
The Beating Heart: A Political and Socio-Economic History of Te Arawa (Huia Publishers, 2008). His latest book,
The Meeting Place: Māori and Pākeha Encounter, 1642-1840
(Auckland University Press, 2012), explores the process of mutual
discovery between Māori and Pākehā, from initially unpredictable and
sometimes violent encounters, through to more peaceful and stable
relationships in the two decades or so before the signing of the Treaty
of Waitangi. He is a co-founder of the Wellington-based research
consultancy HistoryWorks.